Tibor Nagy: Ethio-Somaliland MoU Promising to Pacify Red Sea Region
The Ethiopia-Somaliland seaport access deal vital to ensure stability across Red Sea region that recently has seen an increasing turmoil, former U.S. diplomat said.
In an interview with EBC (Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation), former U.S. Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tabor Nagy expressed that the seaport access agreement signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland is promising to stabilize the Red Sea region and secure transport along the route.
According to Nagy, the Red Sea faced terrible instability problems including piracy because of Somalia’s inability to control its coastline or for the Houthis who are shooting rockets targeting ships going through the route.
He expressed that Ethiopia as a major nation, could absolutely contribute to the stability of the Red Sea if it gets a port and a navy. And it could also provide training to the Somaliland’s navy, he added.
For him, the Ethio-Somaliland MoU is a win-win proposition to Ethiopia and Somaliland as the first desperately needs a peaceful access to the sea while the later has been craving some type of official diplomatic recognition.
However, he stated that the details of the final agreement between the two yet not unveiled publicly but the aspirational aspects themselves are extremely positive.
He considers that there are countries that oppose the agreement including Somalia, Egypt and the US considering the deal from their point of views.
However, these countries are jumping up and down and protest the deal for the wrong selfish reason that has nothing to do with the deal which would benefit the region, the ex-diplomat noted.
He mentioned that Egypt opposes the deal because of its disagreement with Ethiopia over the Abbay Dam even though the deal benefits its interest as it helps to ensure stability along the Red Sea route that allow the free movement of ships through the Suez Canal.
The deal is even in Somalia’s interest because it brings a greater stability across the Red Sea region and the coastal water that would cut down piracy, which is going on at the cost of Somalia, Nagy stressed.
He believed that Somalia’s government still needs Ethiopia’s forces to control country’s territory and to take some of the counterterrorism measures inside Somalia.
Ethiopia would like to diversify its port access since no one wants to depend on a single port. “A country with that many people limited to one port with one tin railroad line, that’s not very promising,” Nagy said.